Ease The Anxiety, Officer

Changing Times Call For New Provisions For Police Stops In Isolated Areas, Which Can Be Tense For Officers And Motorists Alike.

September 20, 1992|By Violet

Imagine you are driving at night on a desolate back road and suddenly see lights flashing in your rear-view mirror. You pull over and stop. It's dark and there are no other people in sight.

You're already nervous wondering why you have been stopped and what the police officer will do. Then you look back and see that the man walking toward your car is not in a uniform. He's wearing black combat pants and a black vest with the word SHERIFF on the front. But anyone can order an outfit like that from a mail-order catalog.

The officer orders you to step out of the car. But you're afraid. Who knows if this guy is really a police officer? And even if he is, who knows what could happen with no one else around?

Such fears are not unfounded or even unusual. U.S. District Judge Patricia Fawsett of Orlando found herself in just such a situation in February and was unnerved by it. Lots of people would be. Yet the Florida Driver's Handbook says that when a police officer signals you to stop, you are to pull over immediately, turn off your engine and follow instructions. In fact, failure to obey an order by a law enforcement officer is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Twenty years ago, few people raised questions about such policies. But times have changed and isolated traffic stops have become increasingly dangerous.

People pulled over in a secluded area can't help but worry about crooks who steal cars at gunpoint, the Rodney King beating, people who impersonate police, and even rogue officers, like the Florida Highway Patrolman who in 1990 raped and killed a woman he stopped.

And remember, traffic stops are also tense for law enforcement officials, who are keenly aware of how many of their colleagues have been shot or assaulted in similar circumstances.

Clearly, the Florida Driver's Handbook and all law enforcement manuals ought to change with the times and add special provisions for dealing with traffic stops in isolated areas.

Police officers need to make every attempt possible to stop cars in lighted areas.

Motorists who feel uncomfortable stopping or getting out of the car in a remote area should be able to ask the officer to move to an area where there is better lighting and more people.

The highway patrol, for example, advises drivers to signal the officer, turn on the four-way flashers and proceed at the speed limit or slower.

If motorists are afraid to comply with an officer's instructions, they ought to explain. They should also reassure the officer by turning on the car's interior lights, keeping their hands in plain sight. They should also refrain from making sudden movements without the officer's approval.

Traffic stops are always going to be tense. But if drivers and officers are better informed and trained about how to handle stops in isolated areas, these dangerous situations can cause far less anxiety for everyone concerned.